Charlie Sheen Is ‘Guinea Pig’ for HIV Research, Manager Says

Charlie Sheen should be getting a big fat thank you from HIV activists for willing to become a “guinea pig for HIV research,” according to his manager, Mark Burg.

“Instead of activists saying [Sheen] is spitting in [their] faces, how about thanking him for risking his life and becoming a guinea pig for HIV research?” Burg told TheWrap.

Sheen’s announcement on “The Dr. Oz Show” on Tuesday that he’s been off his meds and seeking “alternative treatment” in Mexico has angered HIV activists who worry others might follow his lead and stop taking lifesaving antiretroviral medications.

“He’s spitting in the face of the men and women who have done the hard work and who have saved his life,” Peter Staley, who is credited with helping to push pharmaceutical companies and the government to develop today’s life-saving drugs, told TheWrap. “His initial viral load when he was first diagnosed was 4.4 million. If it weren’t for those treatments, he would be dead today. I’m sure of it.”

But Sheen’s manager says Sheen is grateful for the work done by AIDS activists and is only doing his part to try and find a cure for the disease.

“We’ve received calls from 15 different people who say they have found a cure. All Charlie is saying is, ‘If there is anything I can do to help I’m willing to put my life at risk.'”

Burg explained that Sheen was off his meds for about four weeks but went back on his antiretroviral drugs after the experimental treatment he sought south of the border didn’t work.

“He was back on his meds within hours of finding out his viral load had gone up,” Burg said.

Burg insisted that Sheen will continue to seek other possible cures.

“The only way Charlie could test the [Mexican] doctor’s theory was to get off his medication.”

On Tuesday, Sheen shocked AIDS activists when he announced on “The Dr. Oz Show” that he was off his meds and seeking “alternative” treatment in Mexico.

“I’ve been off my meds for about a week now,” he told Dr. Mehmet Oz. in an episode that taped in December. “Am I risking my life? Sure. So what? I was born dead. That part of it doesn’t faze me at all.”

Spinelli explains that “two things can happen when you go off your meds: You can become resistant to the antiretrovirals, and you increase the risk of passing the virus to someone else because your viral load is no longer undetectable.”

According to Spinelli, Sheen’s case is not uncommon.

“Everyone wants to believe they found a panacea,” he said. “I feel sorry for people who chase after alternative cures when we have scientific data that shows there is currently no cure for HIV.”

In November, Sheen told “Today” host Matt Lauer that he had been living with HIV for about four years. At the time he was taking his medication and, according to his doctor, his viral load was undetectable.

Charlie Sheen boozes his way through "Wall Street""I'd begun drinking all the time," Sheen recalled of shooting the 1987 Oscar-winning drama. "We shot in New York City, so I'd be out to the bars every night till 3 or 4 a.m., then try to show up for a 6 o'clock call to stand toe to toe with Michael Douglas and handle 50 percent of a scene."

He added, "I'd be drinking away, doing blow [cocaine], popping pills, and telling myself I wasn't an addict, because there wasn't a needle stuck in my arm."

Charlie shoots Kelly PrestonIn 1990, actress Kelly Preston was shot in the arm -- by Sheen's revolver, which he later claimed had fallen out of his jeans pocket and fired a bullet that struck his then-girlfriend with shrapnel from the toilet bowl.

A Charlie Sheen ChristmasNothing says Christmas like presents under the tree, mistletoe hanging in the doorway and maybe threatening your wife with a knife. At least, that's the way Brooke Mueller claimed things went down on Christmas 2009 when, she told 911, Sheen pinned her to a bed and put a knife up to herthroat.

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Charlie's New York adventureAccording to reports, the actor allegedly suffered a meltdown at a New York hotel in November 2010 during a stay with porn actress Capri Anderson, during which she claimed, Sheen snorted a white powder, put his hands around her neck and then tore open her purse.

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"Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre is a "maggot"When you're clinging to your high-paying job by a thread, it's probably not a good idea to insult your boss, but that logic apparently eluded Sheen, who tore into Lorre with a scathing open letter in February 2011. Maybe it was the tiger blood talking.

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Charlie cures his alcoholism -- with his mind!In another classic Sheen interview with radio personality Alex Jones in February 2011, the actor reveals that he managed to rid himself of the blight of alcoholism, with the awesome power that is his mind.

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Sheen invents "winning!"In a bizarre March 2011 live stream that attracted over 104,000 viewers in the first 15 minutes, Sheen promised a dial-in from the president, sent #TigerBlood viral while debuting a new "Winning" tattoo.

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Sheen's "20/20" interviewIn March 2011, as the world gawked at Sheen's increasingly strange behavior and wondered if the "Two and a Half Men" star was nuts, the actor set the record straight with an absolutely unhinged face-to-face with "20/20's" Andrea Canning.

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Charlie Sheen pays Lindsay Lohan's taxesIn a typical display of Sheen generosity, the actor sent his "Scary Movie 5" co-star Lindsay Lohan a $100,000 check in 2012 to help her pay back a $230,000 debt to the IRS.

"Charlie has a long history of helping out his friends in many ways and this is just another example of that,” his spokesperson said.

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Charlie gets fake-married to a porn starHey, remember in early 2014 when Charlie Sheen said he'd tied the knot to adult actress Brett Rossi ... and then it turned out to be a big joke? Probably for the best, because he's not all that good at the marriage thing.

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Charlie threatens Ashton KutcherWith his lucrative "Two and a Half Men" gig in his rear-view mirror, Sheen did the logical thing and threatened Ashton Kutcher, his successor on the once-popular CBS sitcom. As a war of words between the two actors grew more heated in 2014, Sheen tweeted, "[Y]ou ever tell me to shut the F*** up, EVER again and I'll put you on a hospital food diet for a year."

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Sheen's "bad reaction" to gas at the dentist's officeNobody enjoys visiting the dentist, but Sheen may have taken things too far when, according to reports, he allegedly went after his dentist with a knife in 2014. Sheen's lawyer later dismissed the allegations, claiming the actor had merely had a "bad reaction to the noxious gas put in his mouth and nose."

The actor has had a long career of revelations, social media feuds and classic Hollywood bad-boy behavior

Charlie Sheen boozes his way through "Wall Street""I'd begun drinking all the time," Sheen recalled of shooting the 1987 Oscar-winning drama. "We shot in New York City, so I'd be out to the bars every night till 3 or 4 a.m., then try to show up for a 6 o'clock call to stand toe to toe with Michael Douglas and handle 50 percent of a scene."

He added, "I'd be drinking away, doing blow [cocaine], popping pills, and telling myself I wasn't an addict, because there wasn't a needle stuck in my arm."